“We have some longstanding relationships,” says Knippen. “Every year we go to Green Bench (Brewing Company) and meet with one of the co-founders, Nathan Stonecipher, and they’ve proven to be a great example as the first microbrewery in the St. Pete area. They had to go through all the zoning challenges that go with being the first. He is always very candid with the students about the challenges and changes and how they’ve grown from year to year.”
Daniel is also quick to point out that the Venture Creation students learn extensively from each other.
“Being around so many other business-minded students who have taken that leap as well, like I have, to actually start and manage a business, it was amazing,” says Daniel. “We can bounce ideas off each other, talk about the struggles we’re going through at times, and everybody kind of relates to each other in that way.”
Nate Hilton, a sophomore marine science student from Bend, Oregon, partnered with Ben Goldberg, a junior management student from Potomac, Maryland, to develop Boozy Boys, a food truck concept for mixers blending ice cream and liquor. The idea isn’t Hilton’s or Goldberg’s first foray into the food and beverage industry. Hilton co-founded Boba Bros, an on-campus boba tea shop, while Goldberg is a manager for Glizzy Guys, a late-night food truck that has operated on weekends for about five years.
Venture Creations is the final course in the entrepreneurship minor at Eckerd. Not every student who takes the class is a business major, something Knippen is mindful of in her orchestration of Venture Creations.